The present invention relates to a high-temperature, high-pressure gas generation apparatus for a turbine drive that can be applied to an aeronautical propulsion engine such as an air turbo-ram jet (rocket), a marine propulsion engine such as that for a torpedo, or an industrial power-generating unit used where there is no atmosphere. In particular, it relates to a high-temperature, high-pressure gas generation apparatus that uses hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent for a liquid fuel.
Hydrogen peroxide, which is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen, decomposes readily in the presence of a catalyst or heat to form a high-temperature combustion gas comprising oxygen (O.sub.2) and water vapor (H.sub.2 O). If a combustion gas of this type could be used as an oxidizing agent for a liquid fuel, it would form a more effective oxidizing agent from the pollution-prevention viewpoint than when the oxygen in the atmosphere, which contains a large quantity of nitrogen components, is used as an oxidizing agent, because no harmful substances such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) would be generated as combustion products. The above described combustion gas created by the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H.sub.2 O.sub.2) contains active oxygen in the initial stages of its creation, which, since it is heated by the heat of decomposition, is extremely reactive. For that reason, if this gas is used as an oxidizing agent, various fuels (not only the hydrocarbon fuels that have been in general use from the past, but also various types of low-quality fuels) will react rapidly to generate a high-temperature, high-pressure gas for driving a turbine.
This characteristic of hydrogen peroxide (H.sub.2 O.sub.2) has in the past prompted many proposals for high-temperature, high-pressure gas generation apparatuses for driving turbines that use hydrogen peroxide (H.sub.2 O.sub.2) as an oxidizing agent for a liquid fuel instead of the oxygen in the atmosphere.
In one proposal, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 48-99509 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 52-37527, hydrogen peroxide stored in a tank or the like is introduced into a decomposition chamber provided with a catalytic layer or a decomposition chamber provided with a heat source, to decompose it and thus create a mixed gas comprising superheated steam or water vapor and oxygen by the action of the catalyst or the heat. A fuel is then supplied into this mixed gas in such a manner that the reaction between the gas and fuel generates a gas for driving a turbine. However, in both of these variations, the characteristics required of the mixed gas created by the decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide mean that a high concentrated hydrogen peroxide of a concentration exceeding 60% must be used. This concentration and all others within the current application are expressed in terms of weight.
In another known proposal, disclosed in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,380, a low concentrated hydrogen peroxide of a concentration of 60% or less is used, this is decomposed into oxygen and water vapor, but only the oxygen therein is employed to react with a fuel in a gas generation vessel and thus create a high-temperature, high-pressure gas for driving a turbine.
However, both of the above described prior art techniques have problems. With the former technique that uses a high concentrated hydrogen peroxide, the hydrogen peroxide is highly toxic, it is not stable when it is being stored, and there is danger of explosion, so that the handling thereof is extremely difficult. Further, since the oxygen concentration in the decomposed gas is high, severe oxidation and loss occurs in the high-temperature components, causing problems from the durability point of view.
The latter prior art technique also has problems in that, although it uses a low concentrated hydrogen peroxide which is less toxic and is also extremely stable when stored, only the oxygen is active as an oxidizing agent that reacts with the fuel, so that the oxygen concentration must be high and thus the durability problem caused by the oxidation and loss of the high-temperature components is not solved.